I often wake up with a song in my head. I used to think it was just the radio alarm, my brain picking up a measure or two that blared into my left ear before I hit the off button so as not to wake my later-sleeping husband.
Then I noticed that a song was often present between my ears even when it was a DJ's voice waking me up.
One summer, I started keeping track, writing the songs down. I did this for almost a month. I would search for connections between the songs and snippets of dreams I might remember, or what was happening the day before or on my current agenda. Sometimes I could tease out the reason for the song, sometimes not.
I will say that I do have a knack for remembering songs from the 60s through the 90s. I like to play "Name That Tune" while listening to the radio. I tease my children by saying that when I'm in the old folks' home, I may not remember their names, but I'll be belting out "Delta Dawn" or "Breathe (2am)" or Don McLean's "American Pie". I might even embarrass them with some Metallica or Iron Maiden tunes; my voice may be appropriately raspy by then.
But I digress...back to the topic of morning songs. Today's tune? The chorus to Fleetwood Mac's "The Chain".
Nice piece. It resonates with me because I often wake up singing a song in my head! I never thought of keeping track of them. I may just try that now. I do enjoy them... and somehow those mornings always seem to go very good no matter what.
ReplyDeleteI agree...now that I think about it, there is rarely a song in my head when I wake up in a bad mood.
DeleteI love that you kept track of the songs and tried to connect them to your dreams or earlier events. That would be a slice itself. There is so much new brain research out lately, there might be something you can find that connects there too.
ReplyDeleteI looked and looked for that list this morning, too; thought I had written it in the back of one of my gratitude journals, but couldn't find it. May have to start a new one this summer! I will definitely search to see if something has been studied about this.
DeleteDid some research, and apparently it happens to quite a few people! Academic research links it to earworms in general.
DeleteThanks for the shout-out, Chris! And Fleetwood Mac is a great way to start the day. I listened to something from the same era on the drive to track practice this morning, The Band's The Last Waltz.
ReplyDeleteI always keep my notebook by my bed and try to write down my dreams as soon as I wake up, but sometimes I can't pull myself out of the slumber. I assume I can sleep a little more and write the dream down later, but it doesn't happen. Sometimes, even if I get up right away and try to write it down, it all fades into the ether instantaneously.
I will agree that, just as you don't wake up with a song in your head when you're in a bad mood, I usually don't remember even a snippet of my dreams when I'm cranky (which usually means I haven't slept enough!). When I'm well-rested and feeling good, I'm a lot more likely to remember many details and be able to fill a few pages in my notebook recording them.
On that note, off to a good night's sleep right now!
Thanks for the inspiration for the post, Mark! I've never kept a dream notebook--I don't often remember dreaming, which probably means I'm not sleeping as much as I should be. Though I did have a doozy of a dream this morning...Hope you had a good night's sleep and sweet dreams!
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